Albany drone protester Amidon acquitted

Man dressed as Grim Reaper in anti-drone demonstration

Updated 9:17 pm, Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Protester John Amidon is placed under arrest on April 28, 2012, at Hancock Field, a New York National Guard airbase outside Syracuse that operates unmanned MQ-9 Reapers. (Provided)

Protester John Amidon is placed under arrest on April 28, 2012, at Hancock Field, a New York National Guard airbase outside Syracuse that operates unmanned MQ-9 Reapers. (Provided)

Albany drone protester Amidon acquitted

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

DeWitt

An Albany man who dressed as the Grim Reaper outside a Syracuse airbase to protest the U.S. drone aircraft program was acquitted this week of criminal charges.

John Amidon, 66, argued that he was acting within his constitutional rights on April 28, 2013, when he stationed himself outside Hancock Field as part of a rally against the New York Air National Guard's piloting of unmanned MQ-9 Reaper aircraft from the site.

Police said Amidon, president of the Albany chapter of Veterans for Peace, attempted to climb over a barrier while wearing a Grim Reaper mask and a long black robe. They dragged him away and charged him with attempted criminal trespass and loitering. On Monday, after viewing video from the incident and hearing from witnesses, DeWitt Town Judge David Gideon found Amidon not guilty, said Amidon's attorney, Kathy Manley.

"I was in the free-speech zone attempting to perform political theater when I was grabbed by the police and pulled off a yellow barrier," Amidon said this week. "Clearly, my First Amendment rights were violated."

More Information

Airmen with the 174th Fighter Wing in Syracuse use satellite uplinks to guide MQ-9 Reapers in Afghanistan. The aircraft are equipped with powerful cameras and can drop 500-pound bombs. They have been used to kill terrorists, but opponents of their use say civilians have also died.

Anti-drone activists use the Grim Reaper as a symbol for the unmanned flights. Protesters held a permit for last year's Hancock Field rally that covered the use of props, such as masks, Manley said. Most of the 31 people arrested were charged with governmental obstruction for participating in a "die-in" at the base's main gate.